#aldwych

Tomb Raider 3 Remastered - Aldwych:

"Aldwych is one intriguing level. It has a lot of cool platforming moments, nice secrets and even one spooky jumpscare. However, it's a confusing level and you will take a long time to finish it."

Kingsway Tram Subway

Back in the early days of this blog (Autumn 2016), I wrote about the underground tramway that ran the length of Kingsway, with the only above-ground remnant being the ramp down to the tunnels at its northern end, near to Holborn tube station. At the time, I didn’t know much about this piece of transport history; in the intervening years, I came to know a little more, and wished that I could go down into the tunnel to see the remains of the track and station. Then, in 2021, the opportunity arose, courtesy of London Transport Museum’s ‘Hidden London’ Tours…

Trams had arrived in London in the 19th Century, with extensive networks developing both north and south of the river. And here was the problem: the northern and southern networks were still separate at the turn of the 20th Century. At this time though, the slums between Covent Garden and Lincoln’s Inn Fields were being swept away to allow construction of the new streets of Kingsway and Aldwych – and plans were made to lay below them a tram subway to connect the two already existing tram systems.

The subway was built for single-decker trams to run underground from Southampton Row (just north of Kingsway) all the way through to the Victoria Embankment at Waterloo Bridge, where they would emerge and continue towards Westminster Bridge to cross the river. There were two stations within the subway, Holborn and Aldwych, which were accessed by entrances built into traffic islands at either end of Kingsway.

The subway opened for services in 1906, although initially they could only use the northern entrance, and would terminate at Aldwych before reversing. Through services began to operate in 1908, following completion of the southern subway entrance. However, by 1929, it was realised that running single-decker services was not profitable, and so the decision was taken to convert the tunnel to accommodate double-decker trams. Through a combination of raising roofs in some places, and digging deeper in others, the subway was ready for the taller trams by 1931.

It was not long after this though that London Transport began to replace trams with more “modern” forms of transport; by 1940, nearly all trams had been replaced by trolleybuses, except for some South London routes, and those that used the tram subway. The Second World War stalled the replacement scheme, but this reprieve would only last until 1952, when despite their popularity, the last trams using the subway were withdrawn from service.

In 1964, the southern section of the subway was converted to be the road underpass from Waterloo Bridge to Aldwych that still exists to this day. Meanwhile, the northern end of the tunnel was given to Camden Council to use as storage (they mostly seem to be using it for bricks and litter bins!). 

And so this section of the subway remained as such for many years, with the occasional appearance in films, and even being home to an art installation from 2008-9. In 2012, the Crossrail tunnel contractor began using the tunnel to dig a shaft to stabilise the ground for the arrival of tunnel boring equipment; the hole has since been filled in and the tunnel restored to its former condition, allowing (at last!) for tours to visit this unique place.

Fanart Friday 🎨

🏺 | "Tomb Raider III" 👤 | LitoPerezito • DeviantArt, Twitter

Everyday life in London in the spring of 1941:

Debris after an air raid in New Bridge Street.  A branch of Boots the Chemist can be seen on the right-hand side, and many of the buildings have advertisements on them.

People stop to look at the headlines as they pass a newsstand on Fleet Street.  To the right is the Old Bell tavern.

A man buys a newspaper outside a Lyon's Corner House on Coventry Street.  On the pavement is a small white box with a cross on it. This box covers a dim light that warns pedestrians of an obstruction on the pavement during a blackout – in this case, the obstruction is a low sloping “shelf” used to store and display the newspapers.  A bus stop can be seen in the blackout.

The Victoria Embankment Gardens at lunchtime.  A display of spring flowers (probably crocuses) can be seen under a tree in the foreground.

A game of football in Hyde Park.  One of the boys playing is a Boy Scout.  In the background, several children and a naval cadet watch from a distance.